Thursday, February 23, 2017

(CENTRALIA, WA) – A Centralia man is in custody for the
theft of checks from the Centralia Utility payment drop box in the 500 block of
North Pearl Street. Centralia Police say a vehicle was located that matched the
description of the vehicle that was seen leaving the scene after the drop box
was broken into Sunday night. After a
brief interview, police arrested 31-year old Erick D. Teichman-Lehrer. He
admitted to breaking into the drop box and stealing envelopes containing
checks. Teichman-Lehrer was booked into the Lewis County Jail for Second Degree
Theft. Several checks were recovered.

(CENTRALIA, WA) -- Police are investigating the vandalism of
the Centralia City Light payment drop box in the 500 block of North Pearl
Street sometime over the weekend. Centralia Police say about 6:30 AM Monday
they received a report from a citizen that the drop box had been broken into
and everything was taken. Officers found
that the drop box was opened and empty.
A City Light representative told police the box had been emptied on
Friday. Employees will be checking
Tuesday to determine if anything was taken.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

As governor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt crusaded for
“public power,” government-owned electric plants. He was outraged by the high
prices that monopolistic utility companies were charging and by their refusal
to bring electricity to rural parts of the state, which, they said, could not
be done economically. Public plants, Roosevelt said, could bring power to those
who needed it and serve as a yardstick for measuring and keeping in check the
prices charged by private power companies.

In the early 20th century, electricity was a hot political
issue. It was expensive and did not reach many parts of the country. To
Roosevelt, it was an important social justice issue. “When he talked about the
benefits of cheap electricity he did not think in terms of kilowatts,” a top
adviser said. “He thought in terms of the hired hand milking by electricity,
the farm wife’s pump, stove, lights and sewing machine.”

When he ran for president in 1932, Roosevelt made public
power a cornerstone of his campaign. In a speech in Portland, Ore., he
explained that it could be a “birch rod in the cupboard,” which the citizenry
could use to punish private power companies that were gouging the public or not
providing good service. Critics accused Roosevelt of Bolshevism, but he was not
deterred. Public power was no more radical, he said, than the public mail.

F.D.R. championed public power as president. During his
first 100 days in office, he backed a bill to create the Tennessee Valley
Authority, a federal authority that brought affordable electricity to an
impoverished 40,000-square-mile stretch of the rural South.

Roosevelt had hoped to create other projects like the
T.V.A., to establish yardstick pricing power on a national scale, but it proved
to be a heavier logistical and political lift than he expected. In 1935, he
brought government into the electricity business in another way. By executive
order, he created the Rural Electrification Administration, which used federal
money and local farm co-ops to lay electric lines in parts of the country that
private companies had no interest in serving. The R.E.A. drove down electricity
prices and helped bring lighting, sewing machines and radios to the 90 percent
of rural Americans who were without them.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Snow is expected to increase this evening and continue off
and on through early Monday afternoon.

Snow Amount

Between two and four inches of snowfall is possible.
However, a convergence zone may develop over central Puget Sound and Kitsap
County. This could increase the intensity of snow over the Belfair, Tahuya
Peninsula area of Mason County and result in snowfall of between three and six
inches.

Cold air from Canada will push down from the Fraser River
Valley into Western Washington State. Blustery winds are not forecast for Mason
County. Whatcom, Skagit, Island Counties will get some wintry blasts.

Main Impact

Roads and sidewalks will be snow covered and very slippery. Travel
will be very difficult, especially during the Monday morning commute. Delays
may be significant.

Precautionary/Preparedness
Actions

A winter storm warning for heavy snow means severe winter
weather conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of snow are
forecast that will make travel dangerous. Only travel in an emergency. If you
must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case
of an emergency.

The Forecast Tonight through Tuesday

Tonight

Rain and snow, becoming all snow after 10pm. Low around 33.
North northeast wind around 5 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of
precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Monday

Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 40. Light and
variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2
inches possible.

Monday Night

A 50 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a
low around 31. Calm wind. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Tuesday

A chance of snow showers before 10am, then a chance of rain
and snow showers between 10am and 4pm, then a chance of rain showers after 4pm.
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. Light and variable wind. Chance of
precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

About Me

Joel Myer works at an electrical utility in Washington State.
Prior to his current employment, he worked for nine years at the City of Shelton as Special Projects Coordinator.
In 1992, Joel served a three-month term as an appointed Mason County Commissioner. As far as it is known, he still holds the record for the shortest term for a county commissioner in Washington State.
From 1991 through 1992 Joel worked with Washington State University Cooperative Extension, where he conducted an extensive study of the special forest products industry and its economic value to the Pacific Northwest.
From 1980 to 1991 he was News Director at KMAS Radio in Shelton.
Joel is a 1991 graduate of the Evergreen State College, where his focus of study was economics.
Joel Myer is one of the 2018 award winners, Foundation for Water & Energy Education Haiku Contest.
He has been teaching himself to play the ukulele (with limited success) since 2003.